


The Sleeping Beauty

by zero4life



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Bad Parenting, Canon-Typical Violence, Chekov is such a cutie. He will be missed., Complicated Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Family Drama, Identity Issues, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Secrets, Technically could be considered AU, almost underaged as Chekov is technically barely legal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-21
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-08-15 18:31:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8068225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zero4life/pseuds/zero4life
Summary: Vhes was conflicted. This didn't really go like the fairy tale humans told their children before bedtime. He'd woken after 3 centuries instead of 1, and not by a kiss of that cutie with the curls and the Russian accent.Instead he was rudely woken to the news that his former Captain had awoken earlier and was running rampage, murdering people to get back his crew.Now there was a choice, Rejoining Khan, or turning against him. A choice not easily made. A choice even further complicated by feelings for the Russian boy that woke him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (I just absolutely love Chekov's character in the new movies. I was so sad to find out the actor passed away this year 2016. He will be dearly missed. But we still have the movies he made and he will forever be my cute Pavel Chekov. I wanted to write a romance fiction for one of my favorite Star Trek characters for a long time now, i guess this has given me the push to write it. To cope with the sad news and keep this version of Chekov in a corner of my heart. Because his version of Chekov was just the cutest.)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chekov is having difficulty filling in for Scotty since he refused to sign for the 72 torpedoes. Scratch that. 72 torpedoes and a Cryo Tube. And Pavel is tasked together with Bones, to waking up whoever is in it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (instead of all of the stuff happening in Star Trek Into Darkness happening in 1 day (as Scotty states he was 1 day off the ship) i decided to spread out the things happening over several days to give it more of a lengthy spin and to get my characters more time to settle with certain emotions (and of course more time to fall in love) and i changed some events but there will be similarities with events from the film)

Admiral Marcus wasn't an easy man to deal with. In fact he would do anything to get Khan to do his bidding. Created a false identity and threatened him with his crew to get him to be obedient and help the Admiral with plans for weapons and war vessels. Alexander Marcus was only set on one thing: War with the klingons. If there was one thing Khan really could not forgive the admiral for it was putting his crew at risk. His family. Threatening them, harmlessly defenselessly sleeping in their cryo tubes, to get Khan to do what Admiral Marcus wanted him to do.

He resented the man for it. Hated him with ever fiber in his genetically engineered being. Even more so when Admiral Marcus by accident found out that one of the Crew members held more value to Khan then the rest of them. And the bastard set that one apart. Bringing the cryo tube of that man to a different facility. While Khan tried desperately to smuggle his crew to safety, Vhes, his first officer, was taken away from him. He had no chance to try and smuggle him out too. When he went back for the cryo tube that held his beloved first officer, it was no where to be found. In his rage Khan destroyed all in his path and he was discovered. He had no choice but to flee without Vhes, and without his crew.

Admiral Marcus had repeated the wakening process on Vhes' tube, Keeping him a prisoner to keep Khan from taking revenge. But as Vhes turned out to be as brilliant, dangerous and hostile as his Captain, they had no choice but to put him back to sleep. He had kicked and screamed when they had tranquilized him with enough sedative to bring down an elephant. To forcefully shove him back in his tube like he was never suppose to come out. Marcus would leave others to deal with that particular entanglement when he got the chance. And he did.

-

Khan after receiving no more threats from Alexander Marcus, took his revenge. First he let an agent bomb the secret facility that was disguised as an archive. As soon as that happened all the first officers, captains, admirals and other high ranking Starfleet members would gather in one single spot. Khan was sure to send a deep message to Marcus when he attacked that room. He should not have threatened Khan with what he loved most. He should not have threatened the crew. And he should not have taken Vhes away.

In his destruction he managed to piss off a certain demoted captain that reclaimed his position thanks to Khan's attack. Kirk was enraged. His blood boiling and his heart torn apart by grief when he discovered that Admiral Pike had been killed in the attack. The man had been like a father to him. And all he wanted was to get revenge and justice. Marcus saw his chance when Kirk came to him begging to go after the man who caused all this destruction. Fully aware that the man had transported himself to Klingon space.

The mission was easy, to destroy that man all the ship had to do was fire, And if they were caught, the Klingons would know who was responsible and Marcus would finally have his war with them. The war he wanted so badly. That was the plan. And if they were caught by the Klingons, Marcus could get rid of everything all at once. He didn't know where Khan hid his crew. But he knew how to get rid of Vhes.

And if they managed to wake up Vhes again on the starship the Enterprise, they would have to deal with the consequences. The first officer would most likely destroy that ship from the inside out to get to his Captain. Marcus believed this would solve all his problems. So he ordered Kirk to take this little 'problem' aboard and revive him if possible.

-

"You have two things to do on this mission Kirk. Park on the edge of the neutral zone and use the torpedoes at him. And i'm sending a cryo tube with you. It's old technology, but John Harrison was trying to steal that cryo tube from one of our facilities and i want to know why. So if you have the personnel to do it, i want you to revive him. Since we don't have time to do these two things apart you'll have to take him on your mission and revive him on the road. Good Luck son."

-

The plan had been thought out so well, though of course, plans didn't always work out the way they should.

 

* * *

 

This John Harrison was smart to hide in Klingon territory. But perhaps not that smart. Kirk was itching to get this guy and make him pay for what he did. Attacking the high council with all it's officers, captains and admirals. Admiral Pike was dead because of him. And Kirk would do anything to put him in his place. His blood boiled with rage towards this man. 

Chekov took his usual spot behind the right console where Sulu sat on the left. Pavel's usual station was the navigator. When Kirk appeared on the bridge it was Chekov who yelled 'Keptin on zhe bridge!'. Only to be spoken to by the man he just announced.

"Mr. Chekov, You've been shadowing Mr. Scott and you're familiar with the engineering systems of this ship?"

The boy's eyes widened for a moment. Not really understanding where this was going, but he answered truthfully.

"Affirmative Sir."

"Good. You're my new chief. Put on a red shirt."

Pavel felt the pat on his shoulder. Meant as encouragement but he couldn't help but feel pressured and slightly scared. This meant that Scotty wasn't coming with them. And of course Chekov would do his best, but now he had big shoes to fill. Scotty was an engineering genius. Chekov himself was a genius on a different level. At different things. Though because of his IQ he picked up easy, that still didn't mean he had the confidence to take Scotty's place so easily. But... these were the Captain's orders. So he had no choice but to agree.

"Aye Keptin"

He confirmed the order while thinking to himself that he just had to take a deep breath and all would be fine. Hopefully they wouldn't experience too many troubling things on their mission. But Pavel just had this feeling he was going to miss Scotty dearly on this trip. Even if it were not just for his engineering skills.

Chekov knew he would struggle to fill the position of head of engineering. Scotty had dropped out after he refused to sign the paperwork for the torpedoes that were brought on board. Chekov had shadowed Scotty on many occasions but that still didn't make him an expert. Having to trade in his yellow shirt for a red one was exciting as it was terrifying.

-

He could handle himself down there but it simply wasn't as easy as navigating being on the right counterpart of the bridge's front console. Working alongside Sulu as per usual wasn't going to happen any time soon during this mission. It was frustrating as it was also a nice chance to prove himself. But the now 18 year old doubted he could get them running to full capacity like Scotty could. He'd definitely need more time should any problems occur then the Scottish engineering genius.

When Pavel stepped onto the engineering deck he took a deep breath. The Red shirt felt the same as his Yellow shirt. But the color seemed so foreign to him. Unable to dwell on the thought, he quickly went to work to get the ship ready for warp. Then the shipwide channel came on. 

_"Mr. Chekov? How are we looking down there?"_

Pavel quickly scurried over to the engineering console to reply.

"All systems normal Keptin."

" _Copy that_ "

"warp awailable at your command"

" _thank you Mr. Chekov._ "

It was still a bit unusual working in engineering but till thus far everything worked and Chekov knew what to do. Then the Captain made his speech for this mission over the intercom.

_"Attention Crew of the Enterprise. As you all know, Admiral Christopher Pike, former Captain of this ship and our friend... is dead. The man who killed him has fled our system and fled to the Klingon home world. Somewhere he believes we are unwilling to go. We are on our way there now... For Admiral Marcus it is essential that our presence goes undetected. Tensions between the federation and the Klingon empire have been high, any provocation could lead to an all out war... I will personally lead a landing party to an abandoned city on the surface of Kronos. Where we will capture the fugitive John Harrison and return him to Earth so he can face judgement for his actions. Alright lets go get this son of a bitch. Kirk out."_

Pavel couldn't suppress a small smile when he heard the Captain's finishing words. If he wouldn't say that it wouldn't be Captain Kirk. Always running his mouth with a colorful choice of words. That was to be expected from someone like him. Though it never got old and yet remained funny to hear. 

-

They were well on their way when Chekov suddenly received a warning of the warp-core overheating. He did a scan of the equipment but there appeared to be a leak somewhere. He had no choice but to enforce and emergency stop before the core would blow them to bits. It was a radioactive disaster waiting to happen if he didn't interfere. Oh no. the captain wasn't going to like this. Pavel knew very well the dangers of this fiasco. They were almost in enemy space. And they would be until he got the leak fixed and the warp-core back up and running.

Now the big question remained: How would Scotty handle this?

The com to engineering deck came on, giving voice to a clearly unhappy captain.

_"Mr. Chekov did you break my ship?"_

Pavel who ran up and down trying to get the situation under control was already stressing out. At the Captain's voice he panicked slightly but told himself to calm down and get this fixed as soon as possible. He apologized and tried to estimate the situation as good as he could.

"Sorry Sir i don't know what ghappened. Zhe core overheated, I had to actiwate emergency stop. It must be a cooling leak, i need time to find it. Sorry Keptin."

The poor kid ran high and low to try and locate the leak that caused the overheating. As if the pressure wasn't high enough. After a few moments the captain called again.

" _Have you any idea when this will be fixed_ _?_ "

Secretly Pavel now wished that Scotty was here. He'd have it fixed in no time. He knew this part of the ship like the back of his hand. Chekov however was used to the simplicity of the bridge. It would take him a while to get around this deck to find that leak that caused them this mess.

"n-no Keptin. I'll.. do my best Sir."

Pavel answered. He'd be in trouble if he wasted precious time while they were drifting in space. Not even half way through their mission and already they were heaving problems. The ship's core overheated due to a leak and Chekov had to initiate an emergency stop to find the leak and fix it. At this point he kept telling himself; what would Scotty do?

" _I got a better idea. Since we're stranded in a neutral zone we might as well get some other work done first. Mr. Chekov meet me in the med bay._ "

Pavel frowned deep. Why would the captain want to see him in the medical bay when Chekov needed to fix the leak and get the warp core back up and running? It was most fortunate they were drifting in neutral space. They were not in enemy space yet. It did give them time but why did Kirk call him away from his newly assigned post then? Maybe the captain thought he was sick or something was up with him that he dropped them out of warp manually? Surely not!

-

Chekov worried but he made his way to the medical bay just like Kirk told him to. But when he got there he was met with a very strange sight. There was a cryo tube in the center of the medical bay. That technology was as old as the very first ship with warp capability. Bones estimated this tube was probably three hundred years old. Which must have made the man inside even older. Unless they used old technology like this for another reason. But that was highly unlikely. 

"Who is he Keptin?"

Chekov asked when he approached the tube.

"Truthfully? I don't know. Admiral Marcus entrusted this man to me. The man we are hunting, John Harrison tried to smuggle this tube out of the facility it was in. Admiral Marcus wants to know why and has ordered us to wake him. I have to say i'm also curious but also weary. We don't know who he is or what Harrison wants with him. But we also won't get any answers if we don't wake him up."

Bones didn't like the odds. But when did he ever? Pavel listened to it and frowned. So they needed to wake someone up of which they had no identity, no idea if it was friend or foe or what he was capable of. It sounded like a dangerous plan, but as the captain stated, it was an order from the admiral. They didn't have a lot of choice on the matter. 

-

"I don't like this, now Admiral Marcus has ordered us to wake up mister frosty over here. I can keep check on his vitals but i'm a doctor, no engineer. I know nothing about Cryo tubes or it's technology so you're going to have to figure out the proper sequence to get this human Popsicle defrosted."

Bones muttered deeply unsatisfied. Pavel stared at the Cryo tube with wide eyes. Oh dear.. Engineering was a whole different thing then his usual navigation job. But engineering with a human life on the line was even more terrifying then being responsible for the repairs on the warp-core. The young Russian genius almost wanted to laugh.

"You're kiedding"

Bones raised a brow and the frustration dripped from his voice. 

"Do i look like i'm kidding kid? Get to work."

Pavel looked at the tube again and he took a deep breath.

"oyoi"

Kirk patted him on the shoulder.

"You'll do fine. Keep me posted."

Kirk left the med bay to rejoin Spock on the bridge.

-

Chekov walked over to inspect the technology on which the tube was sealed with. This technology was so old the 18-year old almost felt like he had been warped back into time. There seemed to be a panel that controlled the Tube's functions that needed an access code to work. Chekov frowned when he looked at it. Of course they didn't have a pass code. But this technology did seem old enough to not be hack resistant. 

Chekov carefully loosened the plate on which the access panel was placed without pulling at any wires. With some patience he managed to figure out the right wire and he cut it. Gaining access to the control panel of the tube's primary functions. Now he needed to calculate the proper sequence for the process of thawing this frozen man. He read the temperature inside the pod, vital information over the man's heart rate, body weight, normal temperature, blood pressure. And by all of that, Chekov had to calculate how fast he could thaw this and on what sequence to make sure this man didn't die.

Mumbling to himself he calculated the equation in his head and ended on a certain series of numbers. He punched in the proper vitals, time and temperature to revive the man inside the tube. For a moment a shock ran through the pod. And Chekov cursed in Russian. Bones looked worried. 

"Don't tell me you broke it."

But Pavel shook his head.

"No, no. Iz just a minor short circuit. Iet should not be a problem."

Bones grumbled and came to stand on the other side of the tube to check the man's vital functions. He was alive, his heart rate slowly rising to a normal tempo.

"Well good, because if he dies we'll be in serious trouble with an admiral."

Neither saw the slight twitch in the young man's closed eyes. Pavel returned to set the proper sequence. Once he did the pod beeped and initiated the thawing sequence. It would take about five hours for this pod to reach normal temperature and allow the body inside to warm up to it's usual temperature too. The Cryo tube started thawing slowly. The frost from the display melting away first. giving a clearer view to the boy that laid inside. 

-

Bones kept monitoring to make sure the boy's vitals wouldn't suddenly drop. Neither of them could see the slow movement of the boy's fingers inside the tube. The hand reached down to a panel, tugging at a handle and pressing a button before it laid still again and covered the button he just pressed. Suddenly the pod beeped with warnings and both Bones and Chekov got the scare of their lives. The pod was defrosting fast. Too fast. There was water forming on the inside of the tube from the sudden temperature shift.

"Kid, what did you do?!"

Bones yelled in alarm at Chekov who immediately tried to manually put the pod back to it's original program. 

"I didn't do anything! It just ghappened!"

To stop the man inside the tube from drowning, Chekov had to manually correct the settings of the pod. By the time he got the boy on the proper road to be revived, there were only five minutes left for the pod to defrost and wake it's inhabitant. By this point Bones already worried there was fluid in the man's lungs. They didn't notice the subtle shift of his eyes behind his eye lids.

According to Bones' readings, the guy was still asleep. But the boy inside the tube was fooling them. He woke up when the short circuit kick-started his brain back into function and he had been faking his sleep since to gather up his strength after sleeping for so long. He was waiting for his pod to be opened by the people he heard voices from. Already he had a fully functioning conscious. But after being asleep for so long, then woken and then shoved back into his tube again, his basic instinct kicking in, telling him to keep still and wait for something to happen and not to trust anyone. Especially in the way he was literately forced back into his cryo tube again by the facility personnel aiding Alexander Marcus.

-

" _Mr. Chekov, Dr. McCoy. How is our guest?_ "

Kirk's voice sounded over the com. Pavel looked a little panicked, but Bones gave him the space to answer. 

"Counting down for ghis rewival Sir."

Bones added to that report with his medical knowledge of the boy.

"His vitals are looking good now, He might have some fluid in his lungs due to a malfunction of the pod, but it's nothing life threatening."

" _A Malfunction? What happened? Is the man alright?_ "

Kirk sounded worried when he replied. Chekov quickly apologized feeling it was partly his fault for that malfunction, not knowing it was done manually. This could have ended badly.

"Iet was a short circuit in the pod, which caused zhe tube to thaw faster then iet should have, i ghave solved zhe problem Sir. Ghe is out of danger now and ready to wake up in minutes."

" _Very well. I'll be right down. good job guys._ "

Pavel sighed. Not knowing if he should be relieved or not for his accomplishment. The fact was that they were waking up someone who they knew nothing of and who had a certain connection with John Harrison and according to Bones, that was a very bad idea. When the tube was finally completely defrosted and ready to open, only the head area opened up automatically. The rest of the tube's lid would have to be opened manually.

-

When Spock and Kirk came into the Med Bay, Chekov was working on opening the rest of the pod. Dr. McCoy was scanning the boy for his vital signs to determine if they were still stable. Spock took no risk. He called down security because he was still unsure whether he was dealing with friend or foe. He needed to ensure the safety of the staff and he had to keep an eye on this guy once he woke up. Kirk had agreed with that plan for now.

"How are we looking Doctor?"

Spock approached the Cryo tube. Bones stopped scanning.

"Vitals are good. He should be ready to wake up any minute now. But thanks to the malfunction of the pod he has some fluid in his lungs. It'll cause him some dizziness and discomfort. And it might make him throw up."

Then Chekov opened up the lid of the Cryo tube and removed it completely. The boy was dressed in white sweatpants and a grey loose fitting shirt. Sleep wear for people in cryonic state. He was bare foot and despite being asleep for so long, he had a well trained and fit body. He had dark hair, a long face, he was tall and well formed. For as far as that could be seen by the people staring at him. His clothes were damp as was his hair thanks to the quickly rising temperature in the tube. His skin was also damp and shone with the water that stuck to it. 

After two minutes Dr. McCoy started worrying.

"Why doesn't he wake up? His vitals say he's fine."

Chekov saw something under the guy's hand. He approached to take a look at it at the same time Dr. McCoy tried to scan their guest again. On that moment, the boy's eyes shot open. He kicked Bones against his chest, with a force that send him flying across the room against two of the security personnel. The man jumped out of his tube and grabbed the first person he could get his hands on, which was none other then Pavel, Ensign. And then he punched a remaining Security officer on his chest. Shoving him backwards while he wrestled the guard's phaser from his hands with a single well calculated movement. 

He seemed to immediately know what the functions of the weapon were. Because he switched the stun function for the kill. Shooting someone with that would definitely be irreversible. He hid his own body behind Chekov's despite being of a somewhat larger build, broader and taller, though not by much. He used Chekov as a human shield while he pressed the phaser to the Ensign's head. Pavel breathed heavily and held his hands up in surrender, scared of the one pressing a phaser to his head. He knew what that could do to him if the trigger was pulled. 

-

Everything had happened so fast the Enterprise crew barely had time to react.

"Let him go!-"

"-stand down-"

"-drop your weapon"

The guards shouted. Pavel barely heard them over the racing of his own heartbeat. 

"Hold your fire!"

Kirk commanded. He took a step closer but stopped as the guy pressed the phaser closer to Chekov's head. Pavel had rarely been so scared in his life. He didn't want to die. He was shaking like a leaf and he looked pale. 

"Where am i?"

Vhes asked. He didn't recognize the place he woke up in. It wasn't his old ship.

He had a slight British accent though not as bad as Dr. Carol and his voice sounded low but not deep. More like humming or melodious tones. When Pavel heard it, he squeezed his eyes for a moment. Trying to ignore the cold press of the phaser to his head. Which was a hard thing to do. He helplessly had his hands in the air as he was being used for leverage. His entire body shaking. 

"Calm down. Just let him go."

Jim tried. He didn't want Chekov to get hurt. Vhes narrowed his eyes at Kirk from behind Ensign and tightened his grip on the Russian genius.

"You tell me where i am first."

Spock was the one who complied in detail.

"The medical bay of the USS Enterprise, a ship part of the federation of Starfleet."

Vhes shook his head as if to get rid of an annoying fly. Bones had already predicted that Vhes would probably feel dizzy and he must be disoriented as well. The doctor grit his teeth. Above that he would probably feel nauseous from the fluid in his lungs. 

"Told you this was a bad idea. We should have let him sleep."

Kirk ignored it and tried again. 

"Please let Mr. Chekov go."

But Vhes ignored it. 

"Federation? How... How much do you know about me? Why am i here?"

"We know nothing. We were only tasked with waking you up to ask for information. We are not here to hurt you. So please put the Phaser down and let go of my Ensign."

- 

Vhes started breathing heavier. He was troubled by the fluid in his lungs.

"Who else is awake? Am i the only one?"

"What are you talking about?"

"There were others! My crew. Where are they?"

"We only got you. I don't know about any others. You were the only one admiral Marcus gave us an order about."

"Marcus?! Is he on board?"

"No he's not, will you please put the Phaser down and let go of my friend. Please.."

Vhes looked around and then to the trembling form he had a tight grip on. He lowered his arm with the Phaser and let go of Chekov. Pavel was breathing heavily but with trembling fingers he took the phaser from he hands of his attacker. Vhes let it happen and took a step away from the russian genius.

"I'm sorry. But i had to make sure i was safe."

Vhes said with an apologetic look to the one he held hostage seconds ago. Kirk tried to keep from growling at the man but he clearly didn't like what just happened. This guy was as dangerous as the man they were hunting. 

"Get him to a cell."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirk questions Vhes who is put in a cell. And Chekov makes friends with his attacker.

Vhes walked in circles in his cell to get the blood flowing through his body again. There was an annoying tingle after waking up from a hyper sleep and the sooner that was gone the better. Moving quickly after waking up had made him nauseous. And he heaved a few times to get the fluid out of his lungs, but now that he had been calmly walking for a while he was fine. His pacing halted when Captain Kirk appeared from around a corner with Spock trailing behind him. Kirk picked a spot right in front of the glass of the cell Vhes was in and crossed his arms. Vhes approached the glass from his side, not nearly intimidated by Kirk's by an inch smaller figure. 

Vhes' arms hung relaxed next to his side. He was still in his sleeping attire, bare feet on the cold tiles of his cell. His clothes had dried with the warm temperature of his cell, as did his hair. It was still dark, black and there was something about those eyes of Vhes that Kirk didn't like. Almost as if he recognized those from somewhere. The aqua blue green color was haunting and clear and turned Vhes' look into an aware one. One that sharply took note of every detail.

-

"It's good to know the extend of your hospitality Captain. Do you let all your passengers ride first class like this?"

Vhes mused with a small smile. Sarcasm evident in his slight British accented voice, but the sarcasm was only lightly. It was more teasing then taunting but it got on Kirk's nerves anyhow. 

"You attacked one of my officers. It's your own fault."

Vhes tilted his head.

"Ah yes... I do apologize for that, but seeing as the last facility i woke up in was less then.... pleasant... i had no choice but to secure myself first. I had hoped to avoid another fiasco like that."

"You put a phaser to his head."

"And i said i'm sorry. Were you not listening? Or perhaps your anger towards me makes you deaf for all good words i might speak... Captain."

There was a way Vhes forced the last word out that made a chill run up Kirk's spine. The man didn't nearly spit the word out but it did sound like something he despised or perhaps laughed at. Whether it was amusing or not wouldn't make a difference. It sounded wrong and it only sharpened Kirk's weary attitude. He could not trust this man. Not after what he saw in the med bay.

"Who are you and why were you in that tube?"

The small amused smile of the prisoner grew wider. Vhes took another step towards the glass.

"Did Alexander Marcus put you up to this?"

"Just answer the question"

Kirk was impatient. He wanted answers. Vhes seemed the more patient type but also the one who would be secretly scheming inside his head. No doubt he was put in that Cryo tube for a good reason. And then he spoke of others and a crew? That raised even more questions.

"My name.. is Vhes, Captain. And i suppose i was in that tube to get some sleep. After being woken from the damn thing and being forced back into it again. I can apologize a thousand times for grabbing your man but i assure you if you had been in my spot you'd have done the same."

"That tube is more then 300 years old. How did you get it?"

At this point the smile changed into a chuckle and Vhes shook his head. 

"Really Captain. I had thought you would ask me better questions. How old do you think i am?"

"Point taken. Next question. What does John Harrison want with you?"

Vhes tilted his head to the other side and his greenish blue eyes narrowed. He was thinking but then he straightened his head again. Even though his eyes were still slightly squinting. 

"I do not know anyone by that name."

Kirk nearly snorted and uncrossed his arms, letting them hang by his sides. 

"Well he certainly knows you. He tried to smuggle your tube out of the facility."

Vhes took the information in and then nodded.

"An act of mercy no doubt, I'd like to thank him but i have to stick to my previous statement. I do not know any man by the name of John Harrison."

Jim grumbled under his breath and turned to Spock, lowering his voice. 

"Get him a picture of the fugitive, i get the feeling it might be an alias. These two know each other whether they deny it or not. Also have Mr. Chekov find some spare clothes for this guy. He may be our prisoner but until we know everything it's better to treat him with a sense of good will."

"Captain, There is indeed a large probability that they know each other, like you said. But if they do must we not assume that this man is equally dangerous as the fugitive John Harrison? He already displayed an amount of strength in the medical bay that rivals no other on this ship."

Kirk sighed and nodded.

"We have to assume he's not our friend. We'll keep an eye on him and for now he stays right where he is. Have Bones take a sample from him. And get him some food."

"Yes captain."

Spock walked away while Kirk turned back to the prisoner behind the glass. He couldn't help but think some of Vhes' features looked slightly familiar. 

"We're getting you a picture of the man John Harrison. Perhaps you know him under a different name."

"I think i'll know when i see it, Captain."

Kirk nodded and folded his arms again. 

"You were talking about others. About your crew. Are there more of you?"

Vhes' eyes darkened and he took a step back as if he was putting up a defense. He turned his back towards Kirk demonstrating a clear sign of being upset. 

"Alexander Marcus took my crew. All of them. When i woke up he had separated me from them. He brought me to a different facility. If the man you are hunting is who i think he is, then Marcus did put you up to this. And i can tell you one thing Captain:... That will not end well for you."

-

Vhes turned around again. His arms locked behind his back in his own tight grip. His face stern and painted with a piercing gaze. Kirk took a step closer. Squinting his eyes a little at the man. He did not like to be threatened. Certainly not from a man who already displayed signs of aggression towards Kirk's own crew.

"Who am i hunting?"

"Probably the second most dangerous man you have ever met. A word of caution Captain: do not underestimate him."

It was a clear warning. One that Jim did not like in the slightest. But he had to believe Vhes when he said this man was dangerous. Kirk had seen him in action. Whoever they were hunting was a machine. A cold blooded killer. One that would pose a threat to his entire crew if not handled carefully. Spock came back with Bones right before Jim could ask another question. His first officer had also pulled a file onto a tablet to show Vhes who they were after exactly.

Bones opened up the small loop through the glass that allowed Vhes to stick an arm through but no more then that. Even though it was relatively safe, Bones was weary after what happened in the med bay and approached with care. 

"Put your arm through the hole i'm going to take a blood sample."

Vhes approached slowly, studying the doctor while he obediently put his arm through the hole. Meanwhile Spock took place next to the good doctor and held up the tablet with a still image of the fugitive on it.

"This is the man we know by the name of John Harrison."

Vhes took one look at it and his expression changed. To what, none of the Enterprise crew present could describe, but his look changed and grew less dark but also more aware.

"It's an Alias. I now understand why he tried to smuggle me out. Marcus must have known..."

"Known what?"

"That man, is my Captain."

"But you said 'your crew' specifically."

"Because i wasn't aware of his status. I understand now why i was separated from the rest."

"And why is that?"

"I'm his first officer... I advise you one thing Captain; do not mention me or my presence aboard the ship to my Captain. He will tear it apart looking for me if he finds out i'm here. I may be his first officer, but i'm also the youngest of our entire crew. He's always been protective over me. And more aggressive in approach then anything else."

Vhes retreated his arm when Bones had finished taking the blood sample. Bones was already happy that Vhes didn't try to grab him through the port even though that wouldn't have done him much good. Kirk sighed, they could keep questioning Vhes but they all needed rest and now that their warp core was not functioning they might as well not put the rush in for the hunt of this guy John Harrison. He wasn't going anywhere. And Kirk needed this newly gained information settle in his head.

-

What on earth was going on with these two? Why did Admiral Marcus send Harrison's first officer with them? Did he even know Vhes was this man's first officer? And what was with the waking up earlier part? They woke Vhes up before. Was that under the command of Marcus? If so did the Admiral already know who it was they took on board? Something was fishy about this. This entire mission reeked of something wrong. Kirk made his way up to the bridge with Spock while McCoy went back to the med bay. When Kirk arrived on the bridge Chekov called from engineering deck.

" _Engineering to bridge. eh Ghello? Keptin? Can you hear me?_ "

"Mr. Chekov, give me some good news"

" _We found zhe leak Sir! But zhe damage is substantial. We are working on it._ "

* * *

Pavel made his way through the pipes and machines. Steam was still blowing over some of the pathways but it was looking better then it did before. They just needed to try and fix this as soon as possible. Which was easier said then done. Especially with Scotty not on board.

" _Any idea what caused it?_ "

The Captain asked. Pavel tried to think of an answer but the truth was, he had none. He had no idea what caused it. Perhaps if Scotty was here, he'd know. But Pavel couldn't make heads or tails of this. 

"ehhh, No Sir. But i accept full responsibility."

" _Something tells me it wasn't your fault. But stay on it. and if you can, bring our prisoner some new clothes, you're the one with the most accurate clothing size according to Spock. Try to find something that's slightly big on you._ "

Pavel sighed. At least the Captain wasn't whacking demands around his head or yelling at him for doing a poor job. At least he was given encouragement. Though that didn't make him feel a whole lot better. There still was a boat load of work to do. And now he also had to go back and see the man that attacked him. The Captain was not making it easy on him. 

"Aye Keptin"

-

Truth be told he didn't want to go see that man. Pavel shivered in his skin as he could still feel the ghost of the cold material of that Phaser being pressed to his head, the crushing grip around his neck and the phasers of security officers also aimed directly at him and the man who took him hostage. He had been able to keep his mind off of it by working on fixing the warp core and finding the leak. But that was all useless now that he had to go and confront that man again. Chekov wished he could get out of this but it were the captain's orders. He didn't really have a choice.

With a deep sigh he walked to his own quarters trying to search for a uniform that was possibly slightly big on him. None of his colored shirts would fit, so the only thing he had that were actually somewhat big on him were normal uniform pants and the black undershirt that wend under each colored uniform shirt. They would have to do. He tried to find a pair of shoes that were about his own size and collected them with a pair of socks. When he had everything he took a deep breath and went in the direction of the cell his attacker was residing in. 

-

Pavel stopped right before he'd turn the corner and step into the line of sight from the occupant of that cell. He felt his heart race in his ears. Again he had to shake off that feeling of a Phaser being pressed to his head. Even a ship on the verge of crashing wasn't as scary as the cold solid material of a Phaser being pressed to his temple. With another deep breath he finally found the courage to turn the corner.

There he sat, The guy they called Vhes. The person who attacked him in the Med Bay. Chekov slowly stepped closer and with one hand held the pile of clothes while he opened the port through the glass with the other. He'd rather do that then open the door.

Vhes looked up and for a moment, Chekov almost dropped the clothes he was holding. Those eyes were bright as jewels and the strangest color he had ever seen. They were not green nor blue but something in between that seemed to make them change color in different lighting. Shifting between two colors with every turn of their focus. Vhes looked directly at him and Pavel felt a lump in his throat which he quickly swallowed. He held up the clothes. 

"Zhe captain told me to give you thies."

Chekov mentally scolded himself for allowing his voice to tremble slightly as well as his form. Vhes tilted his head and calmly stood up from the one bench that was the only piece of furniture in that cell to sit on. He approached slowly, his eyes never leaving Pavel who became quite nervous the longer Vhes didn't speak. Chekov had to hand him item by item because the port was luckily not very big. The shoes went fine. As did the socks. At the pants, their hands brushed and Pavel gained a color in his face as well as jolting a bit to the contact. 

Vhes studied Pavel's reaction and as he wanted to grab the shirt that was handed to him, he allowed his hand to brush Chekov's again. Longer this time. Pavel shivered. Slightly afraid, slightly intrigued. 

"Thank you"

Vhes mentioned when he had everything. Pavel nodded, closed the port and wanted to walk off but he was stopped dead in his tracks by Vhes.

-

"Chekov.. Was it?"

Pavel turned around wide eyed. He could only nod slowly, nearly frozen in his spot. 

"You seem afraid of me. What happened earlier... It must have shocked you."

Vhes continued. His eyes turned to a sad expression. He seemed to regret his actions. Pavel blinked. He could hardly believe a man like that would be sorry about his actions. Or that a man that acted with so much aggression before could now be so calm.

"Iet was... Unpleasant yes.."

Chekov replied slowly. Vhes nodded and lowered his head. 

"I'm.. very sorry. I fell back to basic instinct and it's hard to control my actions when that takes over. It's no excuse for what happened. I shouldn't have done what i did and i am sorry for frightening you. I never meant to hurt you."

Chekov was shocked and surprised as well as skeptical. He nearly laughed even though this was no laughing matter.

"You did put a Phaser to my ghead. And it was on kill. I find it hard to believe you would not hurt me then."

Vhes' face broke out into a smile that send tingles down Pavel's spine. 

"You're right that does clash with me not wanting to hurt you. I'm sorry. I don't know what i was thinking. Are you alright though?"

Chekov nodded slowly and stepped closer to the glass again. His fear slowly ebbing away making room for curiosity. Vhes' reaction was the strangest thing. Why would he say stuff like that? Was he genuinely sorry?  

"Why did you attack me?"

Vhes put the clothes he had received on the bench to free his hands and ruffled one through his black hair. It was short, just short enough to be wavy, had it been longer it would have been curly instead. 

"The last place i woke up in, was... hell. I was alone. Like now. But instead of just being a prisoner, they used me for all kinds of tests and other things i prefer not to talk about. I was told that if i did not cooperate, they would hurt my captain, or kill my crew. As a first officer, a lot of pressure was being put on me. Then they told me they got what they wanted from my captain so i had to go back to sleep... I didn't want to be shoved back into my tube but they forced me into it by drugging me and restraining me. You can understand that when i woke up again i had to make sure i wasn't going to experience the same horrors i faced there. Once again i apologize for my manners and the way i scared you, but i did not want to go through that again."

A dash of pity flew through Pavel's being when Vhes explained why he had attacked him and used him as leverage to get himself to safety. From this explanation, a strain of humanity made itself evident in Vhes. He was human. Hence he reacted the way he did. Not because he was so vicious or aggressive, but because he had been afraid. It made so much sense. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chekov was surprised about how friendly Vhes actually came off compared to when he first woke up. It convinced the young officer all the more that Vhes wasn't really someone bad. He couldn't be. After speaking with him for a while Pavel found himself drawn to the other and he caught himself on looking for excuses to hang around this cell more. When Vhes mentioned the promise of food, Chekov all but hurried off to the canteen to arrange it himself. Only so that he could delay his duties to engineering and talk to Vhes some more.

Vhes looked at the young Russian hurrying off. And as soon as Chekov was around the corner, Vhes' smile fell. How could the poor boy know that this was all a scheme? He didn't and that was what made Vhes able to get inside Chekov's head. Intentional or not, if he could use that boy again to get out of this damned cell he would definitely do it. He needed to locate the others of his crew and warn his captain. Vhes turned around and started changing clothes, not caring if he was visible for the guard on duty. 

When Pavel returned with a meal, Vhes was putting on his last item, his shirt. Chekov, caught a glimpse of Vhes, shirtless and he couldn't help but stare unintentionally. There were clear signs of abs and indeed Vhes' body was well formed and well trained. He wasn't bulky but he had the right muscles on the right places and a body that made Pavel slightly weak in his knees if not incredibly jealous and insecure about his own thin framed form.

Oh he'd never tell anyone outright, but he'd never deny either, Chekov liked boys as much as he did girls. And it didn't even matter what exact species they were from. Looks helped of course, but it was mostly about personality and aura. And Vhes had precisely that kind of an aura that brought some color to Pavel's cheeks. Kind, Gentle, yet dangerous and dominant lurking underneath. A real Alpha if there would be such a thing in humans.

-

"Ah, Chekov. Back already?"

Vhes mused with a smile as he approached the glass wall while straightening his shirt.

"iet's Pavel"

Why was he saying that? Chekov had no idea. But he did. and Vhes picked up on it.

"What?"

"Pavel. Iets my name."

"First name basis already? Are you sure you wanna make friends with me that fast? After all i did hold you hostage."

Chekov colored again and he slightly cursed at himself under his breath and in Russian for having his face flare up so. He decided it would be best to use a strong comeback to throw the attention off the blushing on his face.

"Iet's easy to make friends when you're beghind glass"

Vhes moved his head back a little, showing signs of surprise and then he looked hurt, though not for long. 

"ouch. A little cold hearted Chekov? I have feelings you know. But alright. I guess you have a point. So... What's your full name?"

" Pavel Andreievich Chekov."

"that's... quite a mouthful. But to be expected from a Russian. And in that order?"

"It waries."

"Varies because no one can say it right? I got the same problem."

Chekov looked up in surprise. Vhes wasn't such a hard name was it? Apart from Pavel who turned it into Whes by his accent though he didn't mean to, no one had problems saying it right. So that meant he had to be talking about his full name. 

"What ies your full name then?"

"You sure you want to know?"

Chekov nodded a bit too early and a bit too eagerly. Vhes caught him on being very interested. But he decided not to call the Russian kid out on it. 

"It's Vhestus Ariste Noonien Singh"

Chekov let the words roll through his head while he tried to figure out the sounds from his own mouth. Play-backing the words one by one. Vhes was right it was a difficult one. 

"Iet is difficult"

Pavel said not wanting to embarrass himself by repeating it wrongly. Vhes chuckled and nodded.

"I told you so. Thank you for the food Pavel." 

The young officer nodded and handed it to Vhes through the portal. He was standing there because he didn't want to leave but also slightly awkwardly shifting from one leg to the other because he didn't want to seem like a stalker.

-

"There is one thing i meant to ask you Pavel, Why aren't we moving? I mean.. the ship has been still since i woke up."

Chekov damn near gained the color of his red shirt on his face when Vhes asked and reminded him that he had a warp core to work on and he was delaying it by staying here talking to Vhes. 

"Oyoi, i need to get back to work, Zhe captain will kill me. If i don't fix Zhe warp-core-"

Vhes shot up at the information. 

"The warp core is damaged? How?"

"I do not know. There was a leak. Ai but i should not be telling you thies."

Pavel spilled the info before he even knew it and then yet again reminded himself he was talking to a prisoner. But Vhes took it well.

"It's okay, i can't exactly go anywhere."

"I really ghave to go. I'm sorry Whes. Iet was nice talking to you."

"Wait Pavel-"

And off the young officer ran. Leaving Vhes alone and the port open by accident. Perhaps Vhes hadn't meant to get too involved, but he couldn't help but laugh when the young Russian scurried off. He was cute. A little light in his head perhaps but very cute. Vhes almost felt guilty for playing on the boy's innocence. Almost. 

* * *

 

Chekov rushed back to the engineering deck before Captain Kirk would find out that he had been spending his time talking to the prisoner. He would not be happy upon hearing that. Kirk in the meantime had Sulu calculate their traveling time without warp drive. They were at least a day away from Cronos with their warp core down. It was risky but Kirk didn't want to sit still.

He ordered all flight personnel to get some rest including himself so they could fly out to Cronos without warp drive tomorrow. For which they had to be extra alert. They would be in enemy space for a long time and the Klingons were not the kind to ask questions. They were the type to shoot and destroy everything that came into their territory.

In the end on the Captain's orders, the engineering team was also told to get some rest. On which Chekov felt guilty for making them lose precious time. All because he had been so drawn in by Vhes that he forgot he had a job to do. But as he wanted to keep working, Jim told him not to.

"Chekov, We need everyone on full energy and potential, we fly through Klingon space tomorrow and i need you to be ready for that okay? Go get some rest." 

"but-"

"It's an order Chekov"

"Aye Keptin"

-

Though Pavel's quarters were not near in the direction of the cell Vhes was in, he couldn't resist wanting to stop by to talk to him. Despite knowing fully well he shouldn't talk so much to a man he barely knew. However, when he got there, Kirk was already in front of the glass questioning Vhes again. Chekov kept his distance while he eavesdropped on their conversation. Purely unintentional. 

"It seems we have a long day ahead tomorrow. You are currently without a warp-drive i think?"

Vhes started. Pavel squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. shit. He really did say too much. 

"How the hell do you know that?"

"I have my way of figuring out what i need to know. Not your crew's fault i'm irresistible. Charm is a wonderful tool Captain. I would suggest you give it a try sometime. That act of anger of you has lost it's power and it must be quite exhausting to keep up. Not to mention it doesn't threaten me in any way. Why don't we just chat like the adults we are?"

Pavel chewed his lip for a moment. Vhes' words made him doubt. What if the other was using him? But then again a man who seemed genuinely sorry for holding him hostage and acting so calm... he couldn't be up to something bad now could he?

"Adult? You?"

"A little faith wouldn't harm you Captain. I'm wounded. But I am over 300 years old as your doctor so kindly stated."

"Sleeping doesn't count. How old are you really?"

"Barely 21 on the day i was frozen. Ironically that was my birthday. so basically 21 and... a few days. If you count the days i was woken to be a test subject only to be rudely shoved back in my tube after... I don't see how that is relevant though. My age does not point out whether i can talk and solve problems like an adult or not. I'm disappointed you'd fall over such a basic obstacle Captain."

Chekov did the math in his head. About 300+ years and him being 21. Basically Vhes was only three years older then Pavel but with the time spend in his cryotube the age difference between them was atomically larger. 

"I want to know more about your crew. I want to know about your Captain. I want to know all you can tell me. And you will tell me. I don't want to be having those nasty surprises that nobody's waiting for."

"You're clearly speaking to the wrong person then. You should ask your Admiral for the truth. He surprised me as well when he pulled me out of my sleep."

"Don't taunt me-"

"-I'm not..."  

Vhes stood up and started pacing up and down in front of the glass wall while telling his story.

-

"...My captain goes by the name of... Khan. We were sailing a space ship called the Renown. A vessel optimized for a small crew. Back then we were still at war with other empires. Our job was to provide the best tactics when responding to an enemy threat. Always at the front lines. When we finished our mission, peace had been established. Our vessel being a war vessel, was taken out of commission and we were unjustifiably condemned as war criminals and banished..."

Vhe stopped pacing and brought one hand up to massage a temple as if the recalling of memories made his head ache.

"When Khan, my Captain heard of that he took us on our vessel and we fled to a corner of space where no one would ever dare look. He put the crew to sleep and it was just me and him for a while... Until eventually on my birthday he realized there was no use in staying awake. Not in that time. He put me and then himself to sleep to be awoken in times of which we hoped things would be... different."

Vhes turned towards Kirk and placed his hands on his back. 

"In result of the destruction of Vulcan, your federation began frantically sweeping the universe for more possible threats. On one of their searches they found our ship. I was separated from the rest. I later on learned when i was awoken that this was because they woke my Captain first and discovered through him that i was the first officer. I am telling you know he is no ordinary man. None of us are ordinary. Perhaps you already know, i can tell you've already seen some of what he and i are capable of."

"He attacked a room full of unarmed officers and murdered them in cold blood. You bet i saw him."

Vhes narrowed his eyes.

"He did what?"

"He blew up the archives so the officers would have to assemble in one room, where he attacked them and killed nearly every single one of them."

"Was Marcus in that room?"

"What?"

"Was Alexander Marcus in that room? If he was then i think you know the cause of Khan's aggression. He wanted to send a clear message. Our crew is our Family, Kirk. Is there anything you wouldn't do for yours?"

"What does the Admiral have to do with anything?"

Vhes shrugged and sat down on his bench. 

"I don't know the extend to which he played his cards. All i know is that he played with fire by separating me and my captain and our crew too. I don't know what happened when i was asleep nor what happened when i was awake. I was contained. I suggest you ask him when you catch him. That is... if you catch him."

"Oh you bet i will catch him-"

"Not with your warp-drive down. Or the manpower you have. He's too strong for any of you."

"I WiLL catch him."

Kirk turned around and stomped off. His blood boiling because of Vhes. Talking to him clearly didn't have the effects Kirk hoped for but at least now he was a little wiser. 

"If you do catch him, It's only because he wanted you to!"

Vhes called after the captain. But Kirk was already gone.

-

Vhes sighed and ran a hand through his black locks. He knew exactly what would happen if Khan knew that he was on board. It would be a bloodbath. His captain was made out of four words: War, Vengeance, Family and Grudges. That about summed him up. Khan wasn't the forgiving type. A side in which Vhes was clearly alienated from him. The first officer was much calmer and didn't tend to hold a grudge that destructive. At least not yet. Though Vhes could be equally dangerous if he was triggered. His time in the facility under guard of Alexander Marcus taught them that. If the bodies he dropped in his struggle were anything to go by. 

Whether Vhes could risk it or not, he wanted to get out of his cell. He didn't believe that his captain would surrender so easily. But if there was a possibility of him entering this ship then Vhes could not risk being seen in the brick. It would set him off immediately. Vhes paced up and down when a familiar face appeared in front of the cell. Vhes calmed and strode towards the glass.

-

"Pavel.. I thought Captain Kirk would have your head if you didn't go fix the warp core?"

The Russian boy smiled softly.

"Ghe told us to settle for the night. To get full energy."

Vhes smiled and stepped a little closer until he was right in front of the glass.

"Then why aren't you asleep?"

Chekov couldn't really answer that. He could only admit he was eavesdropping.

"I... I gheard what you said. Is your Keptin really that dangerous?"

"Well.. You saw what i was capable off after just waking up from a cryogenic sleep.. And that was just after waking up. It would have been worse had i been at full strength and my captain is just the same... And he tends to hold a grudge.. were you.. were you eavesdropping Pavel?"

The boy turned a little red in his face and he couldn't deny that he hadn't.

"You know that isn't very nice."

"So is holding a phaser to my ghead"

"Hey! i already said i'm so- oho.. i get it. Witty comeback. I like that."

"I didn't mean to say iet. Iet just came out."

"Well you shouldn't take it back because you were right. That wasn't very nice either."

A silence fell between the two and Chekov didn't quite know what to do or say. He should go get some rest like the captain ordered but then again he doubted he could sleep. He looked up at Vhes, It seemed like the other was studying him, and for a while Pavel just looked back. Studying the man behind the glass in return. Taking in his features one by one. Pavel could conclude that, Vhes was gorgeous. And Vhes could conclude that, Chekov was cute. He looked fragile and shy, but Vhes didn't have the idea that Pavel really was that fragile. Nor shy. 

-

Despite the fact that Vhes had held a phaser to Chekov's head, he came back several times to talk to him and faced him. Real fragile people wouldn't have come back, or talked to him so freely. Despite the glass. Honestly Vhes didn't think it was the glass that made Pavel brave enough to show up. 

"Well... As much as i enjoy your company Pavel, I think you better go take that nap before the captain spots you hanging out with me."

Vhes eventually said, he returned to his bench and laid down on it. Chekov nodded and turned around. 

"Sweet dreams Pavel"

Vhes said before the young Russian boy walked away. Pavel gained a color in his face and quickly walked off. Taking that nap that the captain had ordered him to take.


	4. Chapter 4

Pavel tossed and turned in his bed. His quarters were too quiet and because of it, his thoughts seemed too loud. He squeezed his eye shut and tried to think of nothing in particular. But that proved to be very difficult. His thoughts ran him passed all the things that had happened up till now. The taking over for Scotty, waking up Vhes, getting held hostage by Vhes, talking to Vhes through prison glass... Chekov sighed and turned on his right side. Propping a hand under his head. Trying to get some sleep. But it seemed the sleeping beauty now residing in the cell took up all his thoughts and made him restless. Pavel closed his eyes even tighter. But it didn't help.

_"Sweet dreams Pavel"_

The words resonated through his head. Echoing to all corners. Groaning the boy tried to cover his head with a pillow, but that didn't drown out the words. In fact they sounded closer now that he had his head covered with a pillow. How was that even possible? 

***

"Can't sleep?"

Pavel's eyes widened as a familiar voice reached his ears through the pillow. He threw it off and lifted his head to where the sound came from. Staring at the one person who was suppose to be in the cell on another deck, but was seated here On. His. Bed.

"Whes! ghow did you ghet out?"

The raven haired prisoner chuckled lightly in a way that made Pavel red up to his ears. 

"That is my little secret. Where would be the fun in telling you that?"

Pavel didn't know what to say or what to do. Vhes was here, in his quarters, on his bed. How did he break out of his cell? And why was he here? He sat up, nervous now that his former attacker now turned secret crush was sitting on his bed.

"Why are you ghere?"

Vhes smiled and leaned a little closer.

"To see you of course. See, in most fairy tales, the prince comes to sleeping beauty, but in this case, i guess sleeping beauty has to come to the prince... You can't tell me you don't want me here."

Pavel frowned but then widened his eyes when Vhes leaned in even further. Suddenly a pair of warm lips were pressed against his and without really being able to stop it, Pavel moaned softly and let his eyes fall shut. He was taken into a warm embrace and his lips were coaxed to move. Pavel swore he never felt so satisfied from a kiss alone. He had kissed before but that did not compare to this. Pavel arched against the warmer, stronger body. Whining softly when Vhes stroke his tongue to the roof of Pavel's mouth. Exploring the hot cavern with patience and precision. 

Pavel let himself be pushed to the bed and enveloped by the warmer body on top of him. He was lost. Then he reminded himself that they just met, and that Vhes escaped his cell. Possibly to do harm, they didn't know how dangerous he was. 

"wait wait Whes.. wait."

Pavel could hardly push the stronger man on top of him away. Vhes tried to continue but Pavel shook his head and pushed him up.

"Ve can't. We just met."

Vhes tilted his head. His eyes full with questions. And something dark lurking behind them.

"Don't you want this? You look like you want this, you feel and smell like it too."

Vhes tried to dive in again but again Pavel stopped him.

"You are suppose to be ien your cell"

The Russian boy tried again.

"I am.. you left me there remember?"

Pavel widened his eyes as suddenly, they were inside the cell and the surface Vhes had him pressed on was the bench. A little panic flew up Pavel's back, but it was numbed by Vhes who captured his lips again. Crawling on top of him while they were kissing. Pavel gasped when their bodies pressed together and he could feel how hard they both were.

***

The Russian boy jolted awake. Sitting up in his bed in his quiet quarters. His heart was racing and he felt the heat creep to his cheeks. Had he really dreamed about Vhes making moves on him? Pavel shook his head, but when he looked down, the clear evidence of excitement greeted him and he felt even more embarrassed. This wasn't happening. But Pavel's body betrayed him and clearly pointed out the fact that he had been dreaming about some secret desire he definitely liked. It was too much too soon though. And Chekov had trouble acknowledging it. But it was there.

Vhes had been awoken from his pod literately just a day ago. The guy was now locked in his cell and Pavel had seen him about three times if you counted every conversation including the hostage situation. Okay maybe four. But was that enough to be dreaming about someone like that? He never even heard of a love story going down that fast.

Was that even normal? Or was that a side effect of whatever Vhes was? Maybe it was some form of Stockholm syndrome because Vhes held him hostage for a short time and the adrenaline was addicting? Pavel didn't know. He tried to shake the thoughts out of his head, but they kept poking him even if he tried not to pay any attention to them.

To keep his mind off of it, Chekov took a shower and after that, made his way back to engineering deck to work on fixing the warp core. He wasn't Scotty but he could fix this if he was given enough time. Plus there was no point in sleeping if dreams like that kept him up. He'd rather take a scolding later and make himself useful then struggle to close his eyes for a few hours of ordered rest before they would attempt a dangerous trip in Klingon space without warp drive.

It was however easier said then done. There were few people awake and because of that Pavel felt he could tinker away without too many people looking on his fingers. How did Scotty ever stand so many people watching his work? Even with these few people around Pavel felt pressured. And there was only so much he could do. He could switched damaged parts with spare parts and he could reroute some cables. But there were other problems that he didn't know how to solve directly. And then there was the problem of not having all the spare parts necessary to fix the leak. 

With all this time to himself to think and fix something he only knew half how to fix, Chekov started wondering if perhaps Vhes knew enough about engineering to help out. He overheard earlier that the man was a first officer on his previous ship. So maybe that was worth the gamble. Although Spock who was first officer aboard the Enterprise didn't know that much about Engineering either. So perhaps Vhes was the same. But then again, how could a Vulcan compare to... whatever Vhes was?

Chekov tried to tell himself that it was just to get some information, but in truth he used it as another excuse to hang around Vhes' cell. He has done that a lot in the past few hours though. Pavel began wondering if Stockholm syndrome really wasn't at play here. After all Vhes did hold him captive, if only for a few minutes. But Pavel still shivered at the memory of the phaser pointed to his head. And despite his knowledge to be weary of this stranger, he couldn't help but be drawn to the prisoner.

Vhes had a certain... charm, to him. A certain aura that seemed both friendly and frightening at the same time. Like a pet that was still aggressive in the core of it's being and you'd never know if he would remain docile or suddenly turn on you and maul you to pieces. It was entrancing though. And being young and curious like Pavel was, he found it intriguing. 

* * *

 

 

Vhes wasn't planning to catch some shut eye any time soon. After spending so long in the cryo tube, he had enough of sleeping for a while. Since there wasn't an awful lot to do within his cell and there was only the bench for furniture, Vhes decided that he would practice some work out routines to get his body back in shape. Not that it was absolutely necessary with his type of strength. But some healthy life style choices were never bad to make.

It would also keep him sharp and aware. Which is exactly what he needed if he wanted to make plans to escape and join his captain again. They would make Alexander Marcus pay, find and free their crew together and run off into the universe just like before. Finding another quiet corner to wait for the right time to exist. If there was ever going to be one again. Vhes wouldn't mind sleeping then, but until he had seen a sign of either his Captain or the crew, he did prefer not to go to sleep unless he had to. 

Vhes was working on his sit-ups when from the corner of his eyes he caught movement in the hall. Curious he turned his head only to see a familiar boy with curly hair slowly shuffle towards his cell. Vhes stopped his routine and stood up as Pavel came closer to the glass. 

"Shouldn't you be asleep?"

Vhes mused with a light and slightly teasing voice. The smile on his features made Pavel slightly weak in his knees. 

"Gwhat about you? Don't you sleep?"

Vhes chuckled and shook his head.

"I've slept enough for a life time it seems. I'm not exactly eager to close my eyes for extended periods of time. But what about you?"

Pavel nodded in understanding but then frowned a bit and chewed on his lip, which Vhes found to be an adorable sight.

"I can't sleep. So i thought i could work on zhe warp core. But i don't know ghow to fix it."

Vhes tilted his head slightly.

"oh? Then you're not the usual chief of engineering i take it?"

Pavel shook his head.

"Ghe resigned before we left."

"Well he must have had his reasons. Though that leaves the pressure on you i see."

"I... Yes.."

"So... You came to me... in the hopes i might have some advice? I am the first officer of our crew you know. Not the chief of engineer."

Pavel grew red in his face. He had been caught on his intentions and was reminded that Vhes would probably not know anything of engineering. He just wanted to apologize when Vhes continued.

"You're lucky that despite our small crew, we were all trained to handle at least multiple tasks, should one of us ever die in battle. Which was unlikely, but it could happen to anyone so we all learned to cover for each other. That being said i know enough about Engineering to get a ship going. Perhaps i can help."

Pavel knew he shouldn't get his hopes up too much. But he was grateful at least Vhes seemed willing to try.

"There is a little problem however. I cannot leave my cell to come see for myself so i can't help you there."

For a moment Chekov thought that it had been a good idea coming here. But now he realized that even if Vhes could help them, the Captain would never allow him out of his cell. Not even if Pavel pleaded for it despite being held hostage by the same person. Just the association of Vhes with the man they were hunting seemed to piss the captain off. Kirk was only human, so no one expected him to forgive easily, but his position as a captain was colored with a personal tint especially when he made decisions going on his feelings. Something a Vulcan like Spock would or could never do.

"I did not think of that"

Pavel admitted. Vhes shrugged as if he wanted to say: it can't be helped. But then he changed his mind and stepped a little closer to the glass.

"Tell you what... If you give me a com and a tablet, i can establish a visual connection with you and help you from a distance. How does that sound?"

"Iem not sure if-"

"I won't have to leave my cell. And you get the help you need. Doesn't that satisfy everyone?"

Pavel had to admit the idea was a creative one and it solved a few problems in one go. Being the good soul he was he trusted that Vhes would not abuse that opportunity. Chekov had no idea why, but he trusted Vhes. Which was perhaps not at all clever. But it was just a feeling. So far the Captain always went with his feelings and it did save them a lot of times. 

"I'll see what i can ghet you but... Why are you ghelping me?"

Vhes gestured to his surroundings.

"I don't have anything better to do. Besides. It may keep me busy. I'm not exactly eager to go back to sleep. I'll take what i can get if it helps me stay awake."

There. Chekov asked and Vhes answered. And the answer was a logical one. Perhaps what happened in the med bay was indeed a total misunderstanding. Perhaps this man wasn't at all blood thirsty and violent like his father. His character and personality had to be a lot different from the monster Kirk described 'John Harrison' aka. Khan, to be.

Chekov left and returned a while later with a com and a tablet. He opened the port hole and handed Vhes the com. But when he wanted to hand him the tablet, it wouldn't fit. The item was too large to go through the port hole. Which meant Chekov would have to open the door to hand it to Vhes...


End file.
